Spiritual Expression

Spirituality comes from a reservoir inside of us. It is intrinsically a part of who we are. And yet, in Western culture it is a rare occurrence to see people express their spirituality in public. It is designated for certain times and places, ceremonies and occasions, but is hardly visible outside of that. We have to wonder, what is the impact of restricting this aspect of our identity? And what might it be like if we felt complete permission to express our spirituality openly?

There are certain passages regarding spiritual expression in the New Testament that have been misinterpreted and have led people to believe that expressing spirituality in public is wrong. When Jesus was speaking about not being showy in how we pray, he's speaking about the motivation behind how one prays. He was encouraging us to consider where our desire to express comes from—from our ego or our hearts? When we express from our ego it does not engender a spiritual experience. But when we express from our hearts it brings us closer to the Kingdom of God.

So what keeps us from expressing our spirituality? Perhaps we were never shown what it can look like or feel like and therefore don’t realize it is a natural way of being. Perhaps we were given a message that being spiritual is foolish and so worry that others will judge or criticize us. If we feel hesitant to express emotions such as sadness or joy, we may feel hesitant to express spiritual longing, awe, or rapture. And so opening to spiritual expression includes opening to emotional expression.

It is a vulnerable and courageous act to honor our spirituality. As we take steps to authentically express this aspect of ourselves we experience a whole new dimension of life. We come into deeper relationship with the Divine and connect more palpably to the essence of who we are.